A few days ago, we ran a story about Cadillac planning to start production of a second model in China, a market where the US-based luxury automaker expects to grow by 40 percent this year.
Currently Cadillac’s only model assembled in China is the XTS full-size luxury sedan, but the automaker said it would announce this year a new model to be made in China and another one in 2015. One of these could be the next-generation Cadillac SRX, as crossovers are very popular in the world’s largest car market.
Sales of the SRX in China rose 23 percent to 14,496 in the first half of this year, accounting for more than 40 percent of Cadillac sales in the country. GM sold 33,760 Cadillacs in China, accounting for a staggering 72 percent growth. GM China vice president John Stadwick told the Wall Street Journal that the board has approved an expansion plan for the SRX, which is currently built in Mexico and sold globally.
However, he added that GM will “very possibly” manufacture the next generation of SRX in China to make it more competitive in terms of pricing, without saying when that will happen. The second generation Cadillac SRX launched in the US in 2009 as a 2010 model, with the third generation expected to arrive as a 2016 model.
The SRX is priced above 420,000 yuan in China, which is equivalent to more than $67,700. Sales of SUVs in the Asian country rose 38 percent in the first five months of the year, more than triple the growth rate recorded by the overall car market.
By Dan Mihalascu
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